There are comebacks that make the back pages, then there are those that make the front. Sergio Garcia’s return to the Open de España presented by Madrid falls into the second category. The Castellon native is back in Madrid to compete in an event that has been a part of his life for almost 30 years. His debut came in 1997 when he was just 17 years old, and since then has seen entire generations of players come and go, changes in golf and different eras of the championship itself. However, Sergio is still there.
The Spaniard also boasts an extraordinary record at the event: 14 appearances, 14 cuts made. He has never missed a weekend at the Open de España. Not once. This consistency reflects the special relationship he has with a tournament he has known since he was practically a child.
Sergio already knows what it is to win his home open. He did so in 2002, at El Cortijo Club de Campo, aged 22. It was his first victory in the event and it made him the youngest winner in the tournament’s history.
But there is still one thing that has eluded him in Spain: winning the Open de España in Madrid. Now he returns to the Real Club de Campo with a chance to compete again for a trophy that is already part of his story, but which he has never lifted in the capital.
The Open de España holds a very special place in his career. Sergio sees it as one of the championships that form an integral part of his story. Playing it in Madrid also carries added emotional significance.
‘Playing here, in front of your own people, in your own country, in our capital, is always very special,’ he explained during his press conference.
Sergio is also particularly proud of how the tournament has evolved in recent years and of the growth of Spanish golf. He is delighted to see that there are more and more young Spanish players on the DP World Tour, many of them aged between 22 and 25, with enormous potential, and some already making the move to the PGA Tour. After so many years among the elite, few things could give him greater pleasure than seeing the next generation coming through and the fact that Spanish golf continues to produce players capable of competing at the highest level.
Sergio also has a fellow Spaniard by his side this week in the Spanish capital. The 2017 Masters champion has recently begun working with a new caddie and he explained that they started working together in Switzerland and continued in Ireland. The number of times a Spaniard has carried García’s bag can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Might his new caddie, Iñigo, bring him luck this week in Madrid?
At 46, Sergio still speaks like a competitor. He wants to play at the highest level, improve his world ranking and give himself opportunities to return to the biggest stages. The 2027 Ryder Cup is also on the horizon, and he plans to do everything possible to have a chance of rejoining team Europe.
Now he is back at Real Club de Campo. A setting he knows well, a tournament he has already won, and a city that feels like his own.
The Open de España already adorns his trophy cabinet, but Madrid is now offering him another opportunity to win on home soil.
Almost 30 years after his debut, Sergio García is still showing up at the Open de España. And he still has unfinished business.
